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Zubir Said

In thisMalay name,there is nosurname or family name.The nameSaidis apatronymic,and the person should be referred to by theirgiven name,Zubir.

Zubir SaidSKBBM(/sɑːˈeɪd/sah-AYD;22 July 1907 – 16 November 1987) was aSingaporeancomposer most notable for composing thenational anthemof his country, "Majulah Singapura"–" Onward Singapore ".

Tuan Yang TerutamaTuanHaji
Zubir bin Said
SK,BBM,JS, SKA, SBA, ACCA, COMPASS; (Lifetime Achievement Award)
Pak Zubir, the composer of "Majulah Singapura", Singapore's national anthem
Pak Zubir, the composer of "Majulah Singapura", Singapore's national anthem
Background information
Birth nameZubir Said
Born(1907-07-22)22 July 1907
Fort De Kock,Dutch East Indies(nowBukittinggi,West Sumatera,Indonesia)
Died16 November 1987(1987-11-16)(aged 80)
Jalan Chiku,Joo Chiat Place,Singapore
GenresFilm scoresand songs
OccupationComposer
Years active1907–1987
LabelsUniversal Music Group

A self-taught musician, Zubir also worked as a score arranger and songwriter forCathay Organisation'sKeris Film Productionsfor 12 years, composing numerous songs for the company's Malay Singaporean films. He is believed to have written up to 1,500 songs, with less than 10% of them ever recorded.[1]

Early years

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TheVictoria Theatre and Concert Hallas it appeared in January 2006. Victoria Theatre was the venue for the first public performance of Zubir Said's compositions, including "Majulah Singapura" on 6 September 1958. The song later became independent Singapore'snational anthem.

The eldest child in a family of three boys and five girls, Zubir was born on 22 July 1907 inBukit Tinggi,Minangkabau, Sumatra, Indonesia.[2]His mother died when he was seven years old. He attended a Dutch school but had no interest in academic studies. His involvement with music started when he was introduced to theSolfamusic system by a teacher. A primary-school classmate subsequently taught him how to make and play aflute,and inmiddle school,he learned to play the guitar and drums from fellow students and thekeronconggroup he was involved in.[3]

Move to Singapore

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In 1928 at the age of 21, Zubir went toSingapore[4]to make a living as a musician, taking up the suggestion of a sailor friend who had described the island as a place of "glittering lights, seller [coffee with milk] and butter". This was done in the face of objections from his village chieftain father, Mohamad Said bin Sanang, who believed music to be against religion. Zubir's first job was as a musician with City Opera, abangsawanor Malay opera troupe based inTanjong Pagar.He became the troupe's bandleader. Thereafter, in 1936, he joined the recording companyHis Master's Voice.[5]Zubir went toJavato marry Tarminah Kario Wikromo, akeroncongsinger, in 1938; they returned to Zubir's home town of Bukittinggi in 1941 just before the outbreak of World War II.

Coming back to Singapore in 1947, Zubir worked as a part-time photographer with theUtusan Melayunewspaper[6]while composing and performing music and songs. In 1949 he took up the post of orchestra conductor atShaw Brothers' Malay Film Production, and in 1952 he joinedCathay-Keris Film Productionsas a score arranger and songwriter for the company's Malay films, includingSumpah Pontianak(Blood ofPontianak,1958) andChuchu Datuk Merah(Grandchildren of Datuk Merah,1963).[7]In 1957, he received his first public recognition when his songs were performed at theVictoria Theatre.[2][3][8]

"Majulah Singapura"

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Main article:Majulah Singapura

Singapore, then aBritish colony,had been conferred city status by aroyal charterfromKing George VIin 1951. In 1958, theCity Council of Singaporeapproached Zubir to compose a song for the city to be titled "Majulah Singapura", which was a motto to be displayed in the Victoria Theatre after its renovation.[9]Zubir's song, "Majulah Singapura"(" Onward Singapore "), was first performed by the Singapore Chamber Ensemble during the grand finale of a concert staged in the Victoria Theatre on 6 September 1958 to celebrate its official reopening. WhenSingapore attained self-governmentin 1959, the Government felt that anational anthemwas needed to unite the different races in Singapore.

It decided that the City Council's song, which was already popular, would serve this purpose. After some revisions were made to the song, it was adopted by theLegislative Assemblyon 11 November 1959, and on 30 November the Singapore State Arms and Flag and National Anthem Ordinance 1959[10]was passed. This statute regulated the use and display of the State Arms and State Flag and the performance of the National Anthem. "Majulah Singapura" was presented to the nation on 3 December at the launch of "Loyalty Week", replacing the colonial anthem "God Save the Queen".After Singapore'sfull independence from Malaysiaon 9 August 1965, "Majulah Singapura" was formally adopted as the Republic's national anthem. In a 1984 oral history interview, to sum up his philosophy when composing the anthem, Zubir cited theBahasa Indonesiaproverb "Di mana bumi dipijak, di situ langit dijunjung"(" You should hold up the sky of the land where you live ").[11]

Later years

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In 1962, Zubir's songs for the movieDang Anomwon an award at the ninthAsian Film Festivalin Seoul, South Korea.[12]

He also gave music lessons, and often had other music artists visiting him to talk about music and asking for advice. His third and youngest daughterPuan SriDr. Rohana Zubir, a retired lecturer with theUniversity of Malaya,[1]recalled how the family home in Singapore was always filled with music. He was the heart of the conversation, very enthused and willing to share pearls of wisdom so that others could benefit from his work. This generosity extended to other areas of his life. He helped his own family in Sumatra and families in Singapore he had "adopted", sending them medicine and other items with what little he could afford, even though his own family was not well off at the time.[13]

He was content with money earned from those lessons and his film compositions; affirming that he was never driven by money although essential for his own and family's survival, rather he valued honesty and sincerity in his work and placed importance on purity and originality, whether in his music, lyrics or style of singing. He continued working for Cathay-Keris Film Productions until he retired in 1964, composing numerous songs for Malay films. Some sources reported that he also stopped composing songs for Cathay out of objection to its management's decision to cut production costs by borrowing existing music to be used for dubbing onto the background music of some films at the time.[13]

Zubir died at the age of 80 on 16 November 1987 atJoo ChiatPlace inSingapore,survived by four daughters and a son. At the time of his death, Zubir leftS$20,000 to his name. In 1990, his life and passion as a musician were documented in a book titledZubir Said: His Songs,and in 2004 a S$69,000 bronze bust of a bespectacled Zubir was installed in Gallery 6 of theMalay Heritage Centrewhich pays tribute to icons in Singaporean Malay arts and culture.[13]

Awards and honours

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Zubir receives dozens of awards and honours from in and outside of Singapore for his massive contributions to the Malay world in songs and music and to Singapore. Some of his awards and honours were not in the list below.

In recognition of his contributions to the State, Zubir was conferred theSijil Kemuliaan(Certificate of Honour) on 16 March 1963[11]and theBintang Bakti Masyarakat(Public Service Star) in the same year.[14]In 1971, he received theJasawan Seni(cultural medallion) award from eight Malay cultural organisations, and theAseanCultural and Communications Award in 1987. He also received a Certificate of Commendation from the Amalgamated Union of Public Employees (AUPE) for composing the AUPE song. In 1995, Zubir was posthumously[15]given a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Composers and Authors Society of Singapore (COMPASS).[2]

On 8 May 2009, the ActingMinister for Information, Communications and the Arts,Lui Tuck Yew,announced that the address of the permanent campus for the School of the Arts (SOTA) nearThe Cathaywill be 1 Zubir Said Drive, in honour of the late composer.[16]

Music

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Zubir is estimated to have written about 1,500 songs, including those written for Cathay-Keris Film Productions' Malay films in the 1950s and 1960s; less than 10% of these songs were recorded. His compositions throughout his filmography were heavily influenced byMinangkabau music,his past involvement with the bangsawan scene as well as influences ofIndian classical musicand Malayirama asli.[5]However, with the decline ofMalay cinema in Singapore,he is primarily remembered by Singaporeans for several patriotic compositions: its national anthem, "Majulah Singapura"(" Onward Singapore "), and"Semoga Bahagia"(" May You Achieve Happiness "), a song aimed at primary-school students often sung in schools forChildren's Dayon1 October plus during theSingapore Youth Festival.

He had also submitted three song compositions to theMalayan– laterMalaysian– Government for consideration for their national anthem in 1956. However, the committee eventually decided upon selecting a traditional folk song (based upon the French songwriterPierre-Jean de Béranger's "La Rosalie" ) to what would eventually became Malaysia's own "Negaraku".[1]

On 22 August 2007, Zubir's family signed an agreement withUniversal Musicin Malaysia for the latter to manage his works while thecopyrightin the songs remains with his family. The idea to do so came after his daughter Dr. Rohana met Sandy Monteiro, senior ASEAN vice-president of the Universal Music Publishing Group in 2005 through Monteiro's wife, who was a good friend of hers. Dr. Rohana was reported as saying: "It is time to hand over the songs in order to revive them two decades after my father's passing. I hope to ensure that his songs continue to live in the hearts of young artists in Malaysia."[1]

Works

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  • Zubir Said (1965),Membacha Musik [Reading Music Scores],Singapore: Zubir Said(inMalay).

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^abcd"Universal Music to handle Zubir Said's songs",The Straits Times(Life!),p. 24, 24 August 2007;See alsoNoelle Loh (7 October 2007),"Tuning in anew to Zubir Said: He might be known for Majulah Singapura, but the late composer's other works are set for a new lease of life",The Straits Times,archived fromthe originalon 25 December 2007,retrieved10 December2007.
  2. ^abcVernon Cornelius-Takahama (29 September 1997),Zubir Said,Singapore Infopedia,National Library Board,archived fromthe originalon 30 September 2007,retrieved26 August2007.
  3. ^abBahizal Abu Bakar (2 May 2006),Malaysia Music Composer/Arranger past and present: Zubir Said,archived fromthe originalon 26 November 2007,retrieved27 August2007.
  4. ^"More than Mari Kita: Wild Rice fund-raiser spotlights Zubir Said's music".The Straits Times.13 October 2021.ISSN0585-3923.Retrieved8 August2024.
  5. ^abLow Zu Boon. "The Bright Lights: Zubir Said and the Golden Age of Singapore Cinema".BeMuse.Vol. 5, no. 4. National Heritage Board Singapore. pp. 4–9.
  6. ^According to Zubir Said's third daughter Dr. Rohana Zubir, her father also travelled from village to village takingNRIC-sized photographs for the villagers: seeSerene Lim (9 March 1990),"Zubir Said: The man behind the music",The Straits Times(republished on Headlines, Lifelines),p. 28, archived fromthe originalon 13 August 2004.
  7. ^Zubir SaidatIMDb.Retrieved 2 November 2007.
  8. ^Serene Lim (9 March 1990),"Zubir Said: The man behind the music",The Straits Times(republished on Headlines, Lifelines),p. 28, archived fromthe originalon 13 August 2004.
  9. ^National anthem – Majulah Singapura,Access to Archives Online (a2o), National Archives of Singapore, archived fromthe originalon 28 September 2008,retrieved30 December2007.
  10. ^Singapore State Arms and Flag and National Anthem Ordinance 1959 (No. 70 of 1959), now the Singapore Arms and Flag and National Anthem Act (Cap. 296, 1985 Rev. Ed.).
  11. ^ab1959 – Singapore's State Arms, Flags and National Anthem,NS40,Ministry of Defence,2007, archived fromthe originalon 26 August 2007,retrieved27 August2007.
  12. ^Rohana Zubir (2012).Zubir Said: The Composer of Majulah Singapura.Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. pp. 44–45.ISBN978-981-4311-81-6.
  13. ^abcNoelle Loh (7 October 2007), "Tuning in anew to Zubir Said",The Straits Times[page needed]
  14. ^According to Singapore Infopedia, Zubir Said received the Public Service Star in 1962: seeVernon Cornelius-Takahama (29 September 1997),Zubir Said,Singapore Infopedia,National Library Board,archived fromthe originalon 30 September 2007,retrieved26 August2007.This, however, cannot be right as that award was only instituted in 1963.
  15. ^"Posthumous award for anthem composer",The Straits Times(News Focus),p. 2, 17 April 1995.
  16. ^"Sota tribute to Zubir Said",Weekend Today,9 May 2009, archived fromthe originalon 9 May 2009.

References

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Further reading

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News reports

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Books

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  • Sulaiman Jeem; Abdul Ghani Hamid (1988),Mengenang Pak Zubir [Remembering "Father" Zubir],Singapore: Pustaka Melayu,ISBN981-00-0636-5(in Malay).
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